JP4355735B2 - Toner bottle and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner bottle that stores toner to be supplied to a developing device and an image forming apparatus.

  Among electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, a toner box that contains toner is detachably attached to a predetermined toner container, and is configured to supply toner to a developing device by rotating the toner box. There is.

  In such an image forming apparatus, the fluidity of the toner has been maintained by adding a fluidity improver such as colloidal silica to the toner. However, in recent years, with the increase in the speed of the image forming apparatus and the reduction in the particle size of the toner accompanying the increase in definition, the fluidity of the toner is lowered and the toner tends to aggregate in the toner box. In particular, in a toner box provided with ribs on the inner wall surface so as to convey toner during rotation, the movement of toner between ribs becomes dull and tends to aggregate.

  Therefore, there is a toner bottle that includes a conveying member such as a coil inside the toner bottle, and conveys toner toward the opening by the conveying member (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, there is a toner bottle provided with a loosening member in the vicinity of the opening of the bottle body (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2006-53446 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-305531

  However, since the toner bottle of Patent Document 1 has a structure in which the conveyance member rotates and the bottle main body does not rotate, toner tends to remain on the end portion and the inner wall surface of the bottle main body. For this reason, the toner tends to aggregate in the bottle body.

  Further, in the toner bottle of Patent Document 2, even if the toner aggregation near the opening is suppressed, the toner aggregation cannot be suppressed over the entire region of the bottle body in the rotation axis direction. Furthermore, since one end of the loosening member is fixed to the bottle body, the movement of the loosening member is small, and the toner loosening effect is small even in the vicinity of the opening. In particular, the toner can hardly be loosened in the vicinity of the end of the loosening member on the fixed side. For this reason, the toner tends to aggregate.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a toner bottle capable of suppressing toner aggregation over the entire region in the direction of the rotation axis and an image forming apparatus including the toner bottle.

A toner bottle according to the present invention is a toner bottle that contains toner to be supplied to a developing device, and includes a cylindrical bottle body and a rubbing member. The bottle body is rotated by a driving force supplied from a driving source. The rubbing member is disposed inside the bottle body so as to be freely displaceable. Bottle body has openings for supplying the toner to the developing device, the rib conveys the toner toward the opening during rotation of the bottle body, and, a protrusion provided on the inner wall surface. The rubbing member has a shaft portion arranged over the entire region of the bottle body in the rotation axis direction, and a rubbing portion whose one end portion is supported by the shaft portion and whose other end portion is in contact with the inner wall surface of the bottle body. When the bottle body rotates, the bottle body is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis. The shaft portion is a support portion that supports the rubbing portion, a vertical portion that is perpendicular to the support portion and is disposed in the same plane as the rubbing portion, and one end of the vertical portion An engaging portion that extends in one direction perpendicular to both the support portion and the vertical portion from the portion, and the engaging portion and the protruding portion engage when the protruding portion rises as the bottle body rotates. It falls by releasing the engagement between the engaging portion and the protruding portion. The engaging portion is provided at the end of the vertical portion on the other end side of the rubbing portion, and the rubbing portion is disposed downstream of the support portion in the rotation direction of the bottle body when the rubbing member is not raised. It extends downward from the vertical part.

  In this configuration, since the rubbing member is not fixed to the bottle main body, the rubbing member is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis when the bottle main body is rotated, so that the rubbing member is slid over the entire area of the bottle main body in the rotation axis direction. The rubbing portion rubs against the inner wall surface of the bottle body, and the toner is scraped off. For this reason, the fluidity of the toner is improved over the entire region of the bottle body in the direction of the rotation axis, including between the ribs.

The drive source for rotating the bottle body can be displaced a rubbing member without providing a separate driving source. For this reason, the structure is simplified and the increase in cost is suppressed.

Rubbing portion is a sheet member, rubbing member, the engaging portion at least part of the ascent of the protrusion caused by the rotation of the bottle body is rubbing portion than the support portion by engaging the protrusion It can be configured such that the engagement between the engaging portion and the protruding portion is released before rising from the other end side and tilting to the opposite side beyond the vertical state .

  Since the rubbing member is not fixed to the bottle body, when the engaging portion engages with the protruding portion and the rubbing member rises when the protruding portion rises, the sliding member other than the engaging portion in the rotating shaft direction This part is often displaced at a different speed from the inner wall surface of the bottle body. For this reason, the inner wall surface of the bottle body is rubbed when the rubbing member is raised, and the toner attached to the inner wall surface is scraped off.

  Further, when the engagement between the engaging portion and the protruding portion is released, the rubbing member falls. When the rubbing member drops, the rubbing direction of the rubbing member remains the same as before the disengagement, so that the rubbing member is rubbed against the inner wall surface of the bottle main body while being displaced in the opposite direction. For this reason, the toner adhering to the inner wall surface of the bottle body is efficiently scraped off. Further, when the rubbing member falls to the bottom of the bottle body, the rubbing member loosens the toner accumulated on the bottom.

Therefore, toner aggregation can be further suppressed.
Further, the shaft portion extends from the end portion of the vertical portion opposite to the engaging portion in one direction perpendicular to both the support portion and the vertical portion and extends to the opposite side of the engaging portion. You may have a joint part further.
Further, the opening portion opens in the rotation axis direction at the first end portion which is one end portion in the rotation axis direction and has a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the bottle body, and the vertical portion is the first end portion of the support portion. The shaft portion further includes an extending portion that extends from the end portion of the vertical portion opposite to the engaging portion in the same direction as the support portion to the opening portion side and is inserted through the opening portion. It may be.

  The rubbing portion may be a comb-like sheet member. Since the toner between the ribs is efficiently scraped off, toner aggregation is further suppressed. Moreover, since the structure is simple, an increase in cost is suppressed.

  The rubbing part may be a sheet member made of polyethylene terephthalate resin. Polyethylene terephthalate resin has elasticity, high strength, and does not chemically react with the toner, so that the toner adhering to the inner wall surface of the bottle body is efficiently scraped, and the toner aggregation is further suppressed.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of the above-described toner bottles and a developing device. The toner bottle is detachably attached to a predetermined bottle housing portion. The developing device visualizes the electrostatic latent image with the toner supplied from the toner bottle.

  According to the present invention, since the rubbing portion rubs the inner wall surface of the bottle body in the entire area of the bottle body in the rotation axis direction, the toner fluidity is improved in the entire area of the bottle body in the rotation axis direction. Aggregation can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image reading unit 200, an image recording unit 300, a paper feeding unit 400, and a control unit 500.

  The image reading unit 200 includes a document table 201, a first mirror base 202, a second mirror base 203, an imaging lens 204, and a solid-state imaging device (CCD: Charge Coupled Device) 205.

  The document table 201 is formed of a hard glass plate.

  The first mirror base 202 and the second mirror base 203 are movable in the horizontal direction below the document table 201. The moving speed of the second mirror base 203 is ½ of the moving speed of the first mirror base 202. The first mirror base 202 is equipped with a light source and a first mirror. The second mirror base 203 is equipped with a second mirror and a third mirror.

  When reading an image of a document placed on the document table 201, the first mirror base 202 and the second mirror base 203 move horizontally below the document table 201. The light from the light source is emitted toward the image surface of the document placed on the document table 201, and the reflected light on the image surface of the document is reflected toward the second mirror base 203 by the first mirror.

  The reflected light on the image surface of the document is incident on the CCD 205 via the imaging lens 204 by the second mirror and the third mirror with a constant optical path length.

  The CCD 205 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of reflected light on the image surface of the document. This electrical signal is input to the image recording unit 300 as image data.

  The image recording unit 300 includes an exposure unit 310, photosensitive drums 301A to 301D, developing devices 302A to 302D, charging devices 303A to 303D, cleaning units 304A to 304D, an intermediate transfer belt 305, primary transfer rollers 306A to 306D, and secondary transfer. A roller 307, a fixing device 308, paper transport paths P1 and P2, a paper discharge tray 309, and toner bottles 10A1, 10A2, 10B, 10C, and 10D are provided.

  The image recording unit 300 has four hues of black (K) and four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), which are three subtractive primary colors obtained by color separation of a color image. Image formation is performed in the image forming portions PA to PD using the corresponding image data. The image forming units PA to PD are configured in the same manner.

  The toner bottles 10A1, 10A2, 10B, 10C, and 10D are detachably attached to respective predetermined bottle storage portions. The toner bottles 10A1, 10A2, 10B, 10C, and 10D are replaced with other toner bottles having the same shape as necessary, for example, when the empty state of the toner contained therein is detected.

  The toner bottles 10A1 and 10A2 contain black toner, and this toner is supplied to the developing device 302A through a supply path (not shown). The toner bottle 10B contains cyan toner, and this toner is supplied to the developing device 302B through a supply path (not shown). The toner bottle 10C contains magenta toner, and this toner is supplied to the developing device 302C through a supply path (not shown). The toner bottle 10D contains yellow toner, and this toner is supplied to the developing device 302D through a supply path (not shown).

  Each of the toner bottles 10A1, 10A2, 10B, 10C, and 10D is rotated by the driving force supplied from the driving sources 311A1, 311A2, 311B, 311C, and 311D.

  The black image forming portion PA includes a photosensitive drum 301A, a developing device 302A, a charging device 303A, a primary transfer roller 306A, a cleaning unit 304A, and the like. The image forming portions PA to PD are arranged in a line in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 305.

  The photosensitive drum 301A has a larger diameter than the photosensitive drums 301B to 301D. In monochrome image formation performed using only the black image forming unit PA, there is a high demand for speeding up, and the frequency of use is higher than color image formation performed using all of the image forming units PA to PD. This is because the photosensitive drum 301A provided in the black image forming portion PA needs to have a longer lifetime than the photosensitive drums 301B to 301D. The photosensitive drums 301B to 301D have the same diameter. For this reason, the interval between the rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum 301A and the rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum 301B is longer than the interval between the rotation shafts of the photosensitive drums 301B to 301D.

  The charging device 303A uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 301A to a predetermined potential. Each of the charging rollers 103B to 103D is configured similarly to the charging roller 103A.

  The exposure unit 310 includes a semiconductor laser, a polygon mirror, a first fθ lens, and a second fθ lens (not shown). Each of the laser beams modulated by image data of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow hues is a photosensitive drum. Irradiate each of 301A to 301D. On each of the photosensitive drums 301A to 301D, an electrostatic latent image is formed based on image data of each hue of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow.

  The developing device 302A supplies black toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum 301A on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, and visualizes the electrostatic latent image into a developer image. Each of the developing devices 302B to 302D visualizes an electrostatic latent image of each hue of cyan, magenta, and yellow formed on each of the photosensitive drums 301B to 301D into a developer image of each hue.

  The cleaning unit 304A collects toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 301A after development and image transfer. Similar to the cleaning unit 304A, the cleaning units 304B to 304D collect toner remaining on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 301B to 301D after development and image transfer.

  The intermediate transfer belt 305 is stretched between the driving roller 312 and the driven roller 313 to form a loop-shaped movement path. The outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 305 faces the photosensitive drum 301D, the photosensitive drum 301C, the photosensitive drum 301B, and the photosensitive drum 301A in this order. Primary transfer rollers 306A to 306D are arranged at positions facing the respective photosensitive drums 301A to 301D with the intermediate transfer belt 305 interposed therebetween. Each of the positions where the intermediate transfer belt 305 faces the photosensitive drums 301A to 301D is a primary transfer position.

  The primary transfer rollers 306A to 306D have a constant voltage of a primary transfer bias opposite to the charging polarity of the toner in order to transfer the developer image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drums 301A to 301D onto the intermediate transfer belt 305. Applied by control. As a result, the developer images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drums 301 </ b> A to 301 </ b> D are sequentially transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 305, and a full-color developer image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 305. The

  However, when image data of only a part of the hues of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is input, only a part corresponding to the hue of the input image data among the four photosensitive drums 301A to 301D. In step S1, an electrostatic latent image and a developer image are formed. For example, in the monochrome printing mode, the electrostatic latent image and the developer image are formed only on the photosensitive drum 301A corresponding to the black hue, and only the black developer image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 305. Is transcribed.

  At the time of full-color image formation in which image formation is performed in all of the image forming portions PA to PD, the primary transfer rollers 306A to 306D press the intermediate transfer belt 305 against all the photosensitive drums 301A to 301D. On the other hand, during monochrome image formation in which image formation is performed only in the image forming portion PA, only the primary transfer roller 306A presses the intermediate transfer belt 305 against the photosensitive drum 301A.

  Each of the primary transfer rollers 306A to 306D is configured by covering the surface of a shaft made of a metal (for example, stainless steel) having a diameter of 8 to 10 mm with a conductive elastic material (for example, EPDM, urethane foam, etc.). A high voltage is uniformly applied to the intermediate transfer belt 305 by the elastic material.

  The developer image transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 305 at each primary transfer position is conveyed to a secondary transfer position that is a position facing the secondary transfer roller 307 by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 305. The secondary transfer roller 307 is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 305 whose inner peripheral surface is in contact with the peripheral surface of the driving roller 312 at a predetermined nip pressure during image formation.

  When the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 400 passes between the secondary transfer roller 307 and the intermediate transfer belt 305, a high voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the secondary transfer roller 307. The As a result, the developer image is transferred from the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 305 to the surface of the sheet.

  The sheet on which the developer image has been transferred is guided to the fixing device 308, and is heated and pressed by passing between the heating roller 308A and the pressure roller 308B. As a result, the developer image is firmly fixed on the surface of the paper. The sheet on which the developer image has been fixed is discharged onto a discharge tray 309.

  The paper transport path P1 is arranged in a substantially vertical direction to send the paper stored in the paper feeding unit to the paper discharge tray 309 between the secondary transfer roller 307 and the intermediate transfer belt 305 and via the fixing device 308. Is arranged.

  The sheet conveyance path P2 is arranged from the downstream side of the fixing device 308 to the upstream side of the secondary transfer position in the sheet conveyance direction. The paper that passes through the fixing device 308 and is then discharged to the paper discharge tray 309 is transported to the paper transport path P2 with the rear end up to that point in front. As a result, the image is retransmitted to the secondary transfer position with the front and back reversed.

  The paper feed unit 400 includes paper feed cassettes 401, 402, 403, and 404. Each of the paper feed cassettes 401, 402, 403, 404 stores a plurality of sheets of the same size.

  The paper feed unit 400 feeds paper one by one from one of the paper feed cassettes 401, 402, 403, and 404. The paper fed from the paper feed unit 400 is transported to the secondary transfer position via the paper feed transport path P1.

  A registration roller 411 is disposed on the upstream side between the secondary transfer roller 307 and the driving roller 312 in the sheet conveyance direction. The sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 401, 402, 403, 404 is abutted against the registration roller 411 with the registration roller 411 stopped. The rotation shaft of the registration roller 411 is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction. The leading edge of the paper is abutted against the resist roller 411 in a stopped state, so that the skew is corrected when the paper is skewed.

  The registration roller 411 starts to rotate at the timing when the leading edge of the sheet is aligned with the leading edge of the developer image formed on the surface of the secondary transfer belt 305, and supplies the sheet to the secondary transfer position. The developer image is transferred and fixed on the sheet, and the sheet is discharged onto a discharge tray 309.

  A waste toner box 314 is disposed at the bottom of the image forming apparatus 100. The waste toner box 314 contains toner collected from the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 301A to 301D by the cleaning units 304A to 304D.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view from the front F side of the toner bottle 10. FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the back surface R side where a part of the toner bottle 10 is cut away. Since the toner bottles 10A1, 10A2, 10B, 10C, and 10D are configured in the same manner, the structure of the toner bottle 10 will be described below.

  The toner bottle 10 includes a bottle body 20 and a scraping member 30. The scraping member 30 corresponds to the rubbing member of the present invention.

  The bottle body 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and has an opening 21, a connection part 22, a plurality of ribs 23, and a protrusion 24.

  The opening 21 is provided at the end of the bottle main body 20 on the front F side so as to open in the axial direction of the bottle main body 20. The diameter of the opening 21 is smaller than the inner diameter of the bottle body 20.

  The connecting portion 22 is provided at the end of the bottle body 20 on the back surface R side. The connecting portion 22 has a protrusion that restricts movement in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the bottle body 20. The drive shafts of the drive sources 311A1, 311A2, 311B, 311C, 311D are engaged with the protrusions, and the drive force supplied from the drive sources 311A1, 311A2, 311B, 311C, 311D is transmitted to the bottle body 20. The bottle main body 20 is rotated by this driving force.

  The rib 23 is provided on the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20. The rib 23 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the bottle main body 20 so as to convey the toner toward the opening 21 when the bottle main body 20 rotates. The circumferential length of each rib 23 is, for example, half or less of the circumferential length of the bottle body 20.

  In this embodiment, the bottle main body 20 is divided into a first region 25 and a second region 26 in the axial direction. On the inner wall surface of the second region 26, a narrower region than the inner wall surface of the first region 25 is formed by the protrusions 27.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the protrusion 24 is provided on the front F-side end of the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20. The protrusion 24 further includes a surface inclined from the upstream side to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the bottle body 20 with respect to the inner wall surface, a downstream surface substantially perpendicular to the inner wall surface, and a further downstream surface. And a convex portion protruding toward the downstream side. The protrusion 24 can easily engage with the scraping member 30 by having a convex portion (see FIG. 7).

  FIG. 5A is a side view of the scraping member 30, and FIG. 5B is a front view of the scraping member 30. However, in FIG. 5B, the first rubbing portion 32 and the second rubbing portion 33 are omitted.

  The scraping member 30 includes a shaft portion 31, a first rubbing portion 32, and a second rubbing portion 33. The shaft portion 31 is disposed over the entire area of the bottle body 20 in the axial direction. Both the first rubbing portion 32 and the second rubbing portion 33 rub the inner wall surface of the entire area of the bottle body 20 in the axial direction.

  The shaft portion 31 includes a first support portion 31A, a second support portion 31B, a connecting portion 31C, a vertical portion 31D, an extending portion 31E, an engaging portion 31F, and an auxiliary engaging portion 31G.

  The first support portion 31 </ b> A is a portion disposed in the first region 25 of the bottle body 20. The second support portion 31 </ b> B is a portion disposed in the second region 26 of the bottle body 20. 31 A of 1st support parts and the 2nd support part 31B are mutually arrange | positioned in the same direction, and are connected by the connection part 31C arrange | positioned perpendicularly | vertically to the 1st support part 31A.

  The vertical portion 31D is disposed perpendicular to the first support portion 31A, and the end portion on the front F side of the first support portion 31A is fixed to an intermediate portion of the vertical portion 31D. The extending portion 31E is disposed on the extending portion of the second support portion 31B in the same direction as the first support portion 31A, and extends from one end portion of the vertical portion 31D to the front F side. In a state where the scraping member 30 is disposed in the bottle main body 20, the extending portion 31 </ b> E is inserted through the opening 21, and the vertical portion 31 </ b> D interferes with the front F-side end surface of the bottle main body 20. The vertical portion 31 </ b> D interferes with the front F-side end surface of the bottle body 20, so that the scraping member 30 is prevented from falling out of the bottle body 20.

  The engaging portion 31F extends in one direction perpendicular to both the first support portion 31A and the vertical portion 31D from the end portion of the vertical portion 31D opposite to the extending portion 31E.

  The auxiliary engagement portion 31G is in one direction perpendicular to both the first support portion 31A and the vertical portion 31D from the end portion of the vertical portion 31D where the extending portion 31E is located, It extends to the other side.

  In this embodiment, the first rubbing portion 32 and the second rubbing portion 33 are sheet members made of polyethylene terephthalate resin, and the outer shape is a strip shape and is formed in a comb shape. The first rubbing portion 32 and the second rubbing portion 33 have elasticity and high strength, and do not chemically react with the toner.

  The base end portion of the first rubbing portion 32 is fixed to the first support portion 31A, and the base end portion of the second rubbing portion 33 is fixed to the second support portion 31B. In this embodiment, the base end portion of the first rubbing portion 32 is bonded to the first support portion 31A with a double-sided tape, and is then thermally fused to the first support portion 31A at predetermined intervals. Yes. The same applies to the second rubbing portion 33. The first rubbing portion 32 and the second rubbing portion 33 extend in the same direction as the vertical portion 31D from the first support portion 31A and the second support portion 31B.

  In the first rubbing portion 32 and the second rubbing portion 33, the tips of the comb teeth that are open ends are aligned in parallel with the first support portion 31A. For this reason, the first rubbing portion 32 is shorter in the direction perpendicular to the first support portion 31A than the second rubbing portion 33. Therefore, the first rubbing portion 32 and the second rubbing portion 33 have different elastic forces. In a state where the scraping member 30 is disposed in the bottle body 20, the first rubbing portion 32 strikes against the inner wall surface and scrapes the toner, and the second rubbing portion 33 has a tip at every corner of a narrow region. Is easy to get in and scrapes off the toner in the gap.

  6 to 9 are front views showing a displacement state of the scraping member 30 when the bottle main body 20 is rotated. 6 to 9, the auxiliary engagement portion 31G is omitted.

  The scraping member 30 is inserted into the bottle main body 20 with the engaging portion 31F facing downward. At this time, the rubbing portions 32 and 33 are disposed downstream of the first support portion 31A and the second support portion 31B in the rotation direction of the bottle body 20. The scraping member 30 is not fixed to the bottle body 20 but can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction.

  The bottle main body 20 rotates in one predetermined direction by being supplied with driving force from the driving sources 311A1, 311A2, 311B, 311C, 311D. When the bottle main body 20 rotates, the scraping member 30 is displaced in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction in the bottle main body 20 by the engagement between the engaging portion 31F and the protruding portion 24. At this time, the extending portion 31E moves along the inner peripheral surface of the opening 21, and the rubbing portions 32 and 33 rub while being pressed against the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, when the bottle main body 20 is rotated and the protrusion 24 is raised, the engaging portion 31F and the protrusion 24 are engaged, and the scraping member 30 is also raised.

  Since the scraping member 30 is not fixed to the bottle body 20, the scraping member 30 is axially scraped when the engaging portion 31 </ b> F is engaged with the protruding portion 24 and the scraping member 30 is lifted when the protruding portion 24 is lifted. Of these, the portions other than the engaging portion 31 </ b> F are often displaced at a speed different from that of the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20. For this reason, when the scraping member 30 is raised, the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20 is rubbed, and the toner attached to the inner wall surface is scraped off.

  At this time, since the rubbing portions 32 and 33 are rubbed while being pressed against the inner wall surface of the bottle main body 20, the toner attached to the inner wall surface such as between the ribs 23 and 23 is easily scraped off.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, before the scraping member 30 is tilted to the opposite side beyond the vertical state, the engagement between the engaging portion 31F and the protruding portion 24 is released. When the engagement between the engagement portion 31F and the protrusion 24 is released, the scraping member 30 is slid by gravity while rubbing the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20 by the rubbing portions 32 and 33, as shown in FIG. Fall by.

  When the scraping member 30 falls, the inclination direction of the scraping member 30 is not changed from that before the disengagement, so that the scraping member 30 is displaced in the opposite direction with respect to the moving direction of the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20 while the inner wall surface is being displaced. Rub. For this reason, the toner adhering to the inner wall surface of the bottle main body 20 is efficiently scraped off.

  Further, when the scraping member 30 falls to the bottom of the bottle body 20, the toner accumulated on the bottom is struck by the scraping member 30. Further, the scraping member 30 is repeatedly raised and dropped, so that the toner in the bottle body 20 is vibrated, and this also loosens the toner.

  As described above, when the bottle body 20 is rotated, the scraping member 30 is displaced in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction, so that at least when the scraping member 30 is dropped, the rubbing portion 32 over the entire axial direction of the bottle body 20. 33 rub against the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20. For this reason, the toner is scraped off from the inner wall surface of the bottle main body 20 in the entire axial direction of the bottle main body 20 to improve the fluidity of the toner, and the aggregation of the toner is suppressed.

  As described above, the scraping member 30 is preferably arranged in the bottle body 20 with the engaging portion 31F on the lower side. The scraping member 30 includes an auxiliary engagement portion 31G extending in a direction opposite to the engagement portion 31F. For this reason, when it arrange | positions with the engaging part 31F on the upper side, ie, in the rotation direction of the bottle main body 20, the rubbing parts 32 and 33 are upstream from the 1st support part 31A and the 2nd support part 31B. Even when arranged, the auxiliary engagement portion 31G and the projection 24 are engaged, whereby the scraping member 30 is displaced in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction, and the rubbing portions 32 and 33 are inside the bottle main body 20. Rub the wall. However, when the scraping member 30 is disposed with the engaging portion 31F on the lower side, the rubbing portions 32 and 33 rise to a higher position than when the scraping member 30 is disposed with the engaging portion 31F on the upper side. . For this reason, toner scraping is more suppressed when the scraping member 30 is disposed in the bottle body 20 with the engaging portion 31F on the lower side.

  Further, as described above, it is preferable that the engagement between the projecting portion 24 and the engaging portion 31F is released before the inclination direction of the scraping member 30 is changed. When the scraping member 30 is disengaged after the vertical direction is changed and the inclination direction is changed, the rubbing portions 32 and 33 are disposed on the downstream side of the uppermost portion in the bottle body 20 in the rotation direction of the bottle body 20. It falls while rubbing the wall surface (the inner wall surface on the right side in FIG. 9). In this case, the moving direction of the inner wall surface and the displacement direction of the rubbing portions 32 and 33 are the same. Since the moving speeds of the inner wall surface and the rubbing portions 32 and 33 are different, the rubbing portions 32 and 33 rub against the inner wall surface, but the rubbing distance is shortened and the toner scraping effect is reduced.

  When the engagement between the protrusion 24 and the engagement portion 31F is released before the inclination direction of the scraping member 30 is changed, the movement direction of the inner wall surface and the displacement direction of the rubbing portions 32 and 33 are as described above. Therefore, the rubbing distance is long and the toner scraping effect is great.

  A plurality of protrusions 24 may be provided on the inner wall surface along the rotation direction of the bottle body 20. According to this, the number of times the scraping member 30 rises and falls per unit time increases, the toner adhering to the inner wall surface of the bottle body 20 is scraped off, and the toner accumulated on the bottom of the bottle body 20 is struck. The number of times per unit time that is unraveled increases. Therefore, toner aggregation is further suppressed.

  The present invention can also be applied to a toner bottle in which the opening 21 is provided at, for example, the central portion of the bottle body 20 in the axial direction.

  The rubbing portions 32 and 33 can be formed of a single member or three or more members.

  Finally, the description of the above-described embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1 is a front sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the front side of the toner bottle. FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the back side where a part of the toner bottle is cut away. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of a toner bottle. (A) is a side view of a scraping member, and (B) is a front view of the scraping member. It is a front view which shows the displacement state of the scraping member at the time of rotation of a bottle main body. It is a front view which shows the displacement state of the scraping member at the time of rotation of a bottle main body. It is a front view which shows the displacement state of the scraping member at the time of rotation of a bottle main body. It is a front view which shows the displacement state of the scraping member at the time of rotation of a bottle main body.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10A1, 10A2, 10B, 10C, 10D Toner bottle 20 Bottle body 21 Opening portion 23 Rib 24 Projection portion 30 Scraping member (sliding member)
31 Shaft portion 31F Engagement portion 32, 33 Rub portion 302A to 302D Developing device

Claims (7)

A toner bottle containing toner to be supplied to the developing device,
A cylindrical bottle body that rotates by a driving force supplied from a driving source;
A rubbing member disposed in the bottle main body so as to be displaceable,
The bottle body, the opening for supplying the toner to the developing device, before Symbol ribs conveys the toner toward the opening during rotation of the bottle body, and includes a protrusion provided on the inner wall surface ,
The rubbing member, the axis portion arranged over the entire area in the rotation axis direction of the bottle body, and is supported one end to the shaft portion, the rubbing part and the other end portion contacts the front Symbol inner wall surface And is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis during rotation of the bottle body ,
The shaft portion is a support portion that supports the rubbing portion, a vertical portion that is perpendicular to the support portion and that is disposed in the same plane as the rubbing portion, and And an engaging portion extending in one direction perpendicular to both the support portion and the vertical portion from one end portion of the vertical portion, and the engagement portion is raised when the protrusion rises as the bottle body rotates. It rises by engaging the joint and the projection, and falls by releasing the engagement between the engagement and the projection,
The engaging portion is provided at an end portion of the vertical portion on the other end side of the rubbing portion, and the rubbing portion is located closer to the bottle body than the support portion when the rubbing member is not raised. A toner bottle that extends downward from the vertical portion in a state of being disposed on the downstream side in the rotation direction. The rubbing part is a sheet member,
The rubbing member is configured such that the engaging portion engages with the projecting portion at least at a part when the projecting portion ascends as the bottle main body rotates , so that the other end of the rubbing portion is separated from the support portion. The toner bottle according to claim 1 , wherein the toner bottle is lifted first from the portion side, and the engagement between the engagement portion and the projection portion is released before tilting to the opposite side beyond the vertical state . The shaft portion extends from an end portion of the vertical portion on the opposite side of the engagement portion in a direction perpendicular to both the support portion and the vertical portion and to the opposite side of the engagement portion. The toner bottle according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary engagement portion to be taken out. The opening has a diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the bottle body while opening in the rotation axis direction at a first end which is one end in the rotation axis direction,
The vertical portion is provided at the first end of the support;
The shaft portion further includes an extending portion that extends in the same direction as the support portion from the end portion on the opposite side of the engaging portion in the vertical portion toward the opening portion, and is inserted into the opening portion. The toner bottle according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The rubbing unit, the toner bottle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a comb-shaped sheet member. The rubbing unit, the toner bottle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is a sheet member made of polyethylene terephthalate resin. The toner bottle according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the toner bottle is detachably attached to a predetermined bottle container.
An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing device that visualizes the electrostatic latent image with toner supplied from the toner bottle;

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